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Mobile Network Coverage: The Key to M2M Sucess

September 5th, 2013

Companies are implementing M2M solutions into their business models at increasingly higher rates. According to Yankee Group, the M2M industry will triple in the next three years, with more than 313 million active cellular M2M connections estimated by 2016. This rapid growth is no surprise, considering the opportunities M2M technologies, especially mobile M2M applications, provide.

Fixed-line M2M technologies are currently addressing inherently immobile applications, such as utilities, smart grid, security and surveillance, retail and vending. However, these technologies cannot be used in applications that are mobile by nature, such as the transportation and automotive industries, logistics, asset management and even health care. According to Analysys Mason, by 2020 far less than 10 percent of all M2M device connections worldwide will be over fixed-line networks. The tides are changing and M2M is going mobile, opening up new doors for those that are ready.

Mobile M2M applications not only improve business processes, but drive new revenue opportunities. A few great examples of this include observing driver behavior with on-board diagnostics (such as OBD-II) to enhance insurance companies’ auto insurance risk selection, tracking perishable cargo to assure that the proper temperature is maintained during cold chain transport and real-time monitoring of service use for enhanced billing. However, for a company to truly take advantage of the benefits of M2M, one crucial factor must be taken into consideration –network coverage. <Read More>